It was only yesterday since the fight between Daniel and Anemone -which ended with her crying on the floor- had occurred.
When the queens eventually did find out they were not happy, especially not Coral who believed Anemone was a little angel who would never hurt anyone and demanded Daniel be punished for even thinking that.
When Tsunami did bring up the fact that Anemone was kind of spoiled and not a good student herself, however, Coral merely shrugged it off and said she must have had a 'valid reason' for doing so.
Needless to say, they were still impressed how a normal Dragon was able to beat an Animus in a fight.
So in the end Daniel was now sitting in the detention cave listening in to Tsunami who was giving a boring lecture on why he shouldn't do the things he did.
'Yeah, I know it wasn't right but she deserved every bit of my blow... If anything she deserved another for how much pain she put Turtle through'
He looked up to the deep blue Seawing who was going on and on... It was a complete bore.
So he decided to close his eyes for a split second... And of course, timing came for him.
"HURRICANE! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?" Tsunami yelled as she threw a small scroll casing at him.
He opened his eyes just in time to see the case hurdle towards him and whack him in the face.
"Gah!" Daniel shouted as the light but hard casing hit his forehead which created a light pain.
"Oh come on! She deserved what I did to her! And you know it!" Daniel spat.
"Yes, but that's no reason to BREAK HER JAW! How did you even do it anyway?"
Her voice went from angry to confused and then back to angry.
"It doesn't matter! Now Queen Coral is upset and refuses to leave Anemone's side until she's better.
Daniel raised a brow. "Can't she just fix herself with Animus magic? Or is she faking it so she gets the attention she wants?"
Tsunami wasn't having it.
"Hurricane that's enough! She's still my SISTER! Isn't that enough to tell you to NOT hurt her!?"
Daniel scowled.
"Oh yeah!? Well isn't Turtle your BROTHER? Isn't that enough to tell Anemone NOT to bully him like she's been doing all these years?!"
"Yeah- well- uhm..."Tsunami stuttered but was cut off by Daniel
"I was just trying to defend my friends, didn't you do the same against Kestrel when she was hurting Clay?"
Tsunami's eyes widened.
"How do you know about that?" she spat to which Daniel shrugged.
"That's not important, what is important is seeing how I'm just a younger version of your past self, getting in trouble by defending my friends and being locked down with you in detention like you were locked down with chains under the mountain.
Tsunami fell silent. It was clear she didn't know what to say and instead simply sighed as she saw the similarities.
"Fine, I see your point... But that still doesn't make it right!" she barked but Daniel couldn't care less, he already had her convinced.
"Sure, it may not been right in some eyes but in ours, it was completely justified after all the pain she put others through and I have no remorse for her" Daniel stated clearly.
"The only thing I regret is not punching her twice because let me tell you... She deserved so much more than just a broken jaw..."
Tsunami fell silent again, she held a stern stare with Daniel. However, he could see that deep down, she knew he was right.
She sighed deeply, "Look, I understand, I would have probably done the same if I was in your spot but can you at least try to be nice to her?" She asked.
Daniel shrugged.
"Only if she's nice to us in return. If she's still the same as last time then she's getting another beating, got it."
Daniel clearly stated he wasn't having any of it.
He watched Tsunami place a talon on her face. "Look, I can't let you go unless you promise to not hurt her again, Queen Corals orders"
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry to break it to you but I don't care. If Coral has an issue with me then that's her problem, not mine, and not yours, so she can deal with me instead of her daughter to do HER job.
I'm not going to just sit here and get told off for standing up to a bully."
He stood up and began to walk out of the classroom.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Tsunami yelled.
"Back to my sleeping cave..? Because I think I've spent enough time here already, don't you?"
Daniel responded coolly as he walked out of the detention cave and into the great hall.
Tsunami didn't try to stop him and instead just sat down, smiling a little.
"Don't let anything stop you Hurricane... You'll go far... Just like me..." she said softly but Daniel was already too far down the hall to hear her.
Daniel looked at the wall and the crack that led down to the underground lake.
He had recently had a conversation with Flame on the Queen's topic.
Turned out he was also listening in and managed to stick around a little longer.
It wasn't much but he overheard that the queens knew almost nothing about who they were, what they were doing, or where they would strike next.
Although they did know one thing.
They knew Karma was an animus, and as such this meant that any male Seawing animus would most likely be who they were looking for.
That was a starting point, now they just had to build on it. Although luckily for Turtle he was extremely good at keeping his powers a secret.
Therefore, it would be a while until the queens found out.
'But there's no denying it... They will find out eventually... I just have to hope and pray that I'm out of this world before they do... Then it will all go back to normal... Right?'
This was a question that had been flying around in his head for a while and it worried him.
Strictly speaking, the world of Wings of Fire would go back to normal the moment he left since he was never supposed to be in the story to begin with.
However... After the events of book fifteen, the series is left on an open end with things seemingly getting better...
'That doesn't mean they will though... And as such anything can happen... Which means after the events of the fifteenth book... Anything that happens could become canon...
Daniel shivered at the thought of his actions having a permanent impact.
He was only doing this so he could leave and have the world return to normal.
'But If by any chance things don't go back to normal... Then I would of ruined the Lives of my friends permanently.
They'll be locked up with the key thrown away until they rot... And it'll all be my fault...'
When Daniel saw this as a genuine possibility he questioned whether it was worth it to try and get back to Earth.
Wouldn't it just be better to stay as a Skywing and forget Earth?
'No... Because then I'd have to live with a massive secret for the rest of my life... give up everything I know... And that's only if they don't catch us...'
Every possible ending seemed like a bad one.
Either he was responsible for ruining the lives of his friends, Dragons who risked their lives to help him...
Live the rest of his days as a dragon with a massive secret he couldn't let anyone know... Live life on the run as a wanted criminal if his real identity was ever found out while he watched or potentially joined his friends in the kingdom dungeons.
'Not to mention having to live with Mr burnt
calamari constantly in my mind'
He thought glumly.
'And finally... My last option... Death. I die and... That's it, no running, no living with secrets, no blaming myself for destroying my friend's lives... Just... Nothing...'
Honestly, it seemed like the Phyrria gods were out to get him for trespassing on their world.
He was worried, he didn't know what to do at this point and his mind was racing with possibilities of a future, each one worse than the last.
As such, Daniel wasn't paying attention to where he was walking and ended up walking straight into another Student.
They clashed together as he felt ice scales on his.
'So they're an Icewing... Great... Let's just hope it's Winter and not some stranger or this will get a little out of hand'
"Oof, Sorry didn't see you there," he said as he looked up to find not one but two Icewings staring down at him.
"Clearly.." One of them retorted as they rolled their eyes.
The other was standing behind their friend without saying a word.
Daniel smiled shyly as an awkward tension settled around them.
"Well, this is awkward... Sorry for bumping into you, but I need to go now so if you don't mind..." Daniel said as he tried to walk past but the Icewing blocked him.
"You know... You seem oddly familiar..." Spoke to the first Icewing.
And that's when Daniel recognised them.
They were the Icewings he and Star nearly ran into in the Diamond caves...
'And the one I'm speaking to... she was the one I saved from the scroll of chaos's wrath in the Ice kingdom... but that means she's the only one who properly saw my face... apart from the guard who I knocked out that is.'
He looked back up to her, Kori was her name Daniel remembered which made the other girl behind her Penguin. Soon however he was getting an odd glance after realising that he'd been staring at them for a good moment with no reason for it.
"O-oh! Really? well, that's interesting... Well, I know for a fact that I've never seen you so you must have the wrong dragon" Daniel lied.
He received a sceptical stare from Kori before she opened a wing to let him pass, Daniel ran past quickly to avoid any more conversation but he was stopped as Penguin called out to him.
"Hey! Before you go... What's your name?"
Daniel looked back, "Hurricane, pleased to meet you," he shot her a happy smile.
Penguin looked at him with sad eyes and this got him confused.
"Hey... Are you alright?" he asked to which she nodded.
"Yeah... You just remind me of someone... That's all."
Daniel looked at her, a small tear fell from her face but she wiped it away quickly.
'Whoever this someone is was pretty important to her...'
"I understand... Well, I'll see you around I guess," he said awkwardly before running down to where his sleeping cave was.
'That could not have gotten any more awkward...' Daniel sighed.
'Well now... I guess I'll just go back to the sleeping cave, nothing else to do.'
Daniel turned to being making his way there but before he could do anything a shout came from behind him.
"Hurricane!"
He whipped around to see an exhausted Qibli running up to him.
"Hurricane..!" he gasped as he came to a tired stop in front of him.
"Woah!? What's going on? Why are you so exhausted?" Daniel asked with a little worry.
However, soon his questions were answered when the gong rang... Even though it wasn't supposed to until the next day.
Soon all seven queens walked into the main hall while other students peered out from the sides, also confused about the random ringing of the gong.
Soon Daniel felt more talons rush behind him as the rest of the Jade Winglet followed behind Qibli.
Everyone was there except for Willow who Daniel spotted on the other side of the great hall with Sundew and Cricket.
There was a tense silence before Tsunami emerged from the group of Queens.
"Students! There has been a change of plans!" She called out, thus starting another one of her speeches.
"Classes have been cancelled for the rest of the week!"
This immediately caught Daniel's attention and the attention of multiple other students.
They looked at one another in confusion as they awaited a response.
Tsunami continued.
"The queens have decided to put your education on hold for multiple reasons, the first being that we've decided to help the Pantalan dragons by sending a stealth team consisting of one dragon from each tribe across the sea... I will be part of that stealth team as the Seawing representative and as such can't be here to supervise the school."
Everyone watched attentively as Queen Glory stepped up in front of Tsunami.
"We've already picked a few of the representatives who will be going on said mission. If your name is called please meet us after this small announcement"
Glory cleared her throat.
"Sundew, Cricket, Qibli, Moonwatcher."
Daniel flinched a little, he knew about this, he knew they would be picked and when he looked back to see their shocked faces he couldn't help but feel bad for them.
He spotted Willow and Winter glancing at him, They also knew about this considering they were with him when they were eavesdropping on the Queens.
Glory continued.
"We've selected you four and a few others outside of Jade Mountain for this mission, The Skywing and Rainwing representatives are yet to be decided but we do have our eyes on some dragons who may suit the role well.
She shot a quick glance to Daniel who noticed it but played dumb when she checked to see if he did.
She then looked back to the crowd of students.
"The second reason we've decided on this harsh action is due to the new organised crime group, the 'Heathens'"
She paused for a moment before looking to Thorn and Coral who both nodded.
"Because of their destructive power, we need all the help we can get to catch them and as such many of your current teachers will not be available for your education, however, we do have an idea of where they'll strike next and if all goes well by the end of this week we will have them pay for their crimes"
"We encourage all dragons to NOT attempt to hunt them... It will most likely result in your death... As such, from now on it will be strictly forbidden for any dragon to wander outside the school's grounds without prior permission.
We thank you for your understanding, you're all dismissed"
Glory took a deep breath as she finished up, thinking all the students would understand but then Ruby let out a dismissive sigh as she saw Flame shooting her a significant look.
"Your majesties... why are we not allowed to leave the mountain!? You can't just keep a bunch of dragons from going outside!" Flame barked.
A few other dragons agreed with some grumbles at the absurdity of the situation.
Ruby stepped up this time to answer.
"It's for your safety, as far as we know the Heathens haven't killed anyone but they're by far some of the most dangerous dragons on the continent at the moment and you would do well to not mess with them and get yourself into trouble like you normally do."
Daniel made a face when she mentioned them not killing anyone as he looked at Kinkajou.
She had a face of guilt and sadness as she looked down at her front claws.
He guessed she was thinking of the three Sandwings she had mercilessly murdered in the Scorpion den.
'Poor Kinkajou... I know it wasn't her, the Gatekeeper told her to do it.. Yet she still blames herself... Don't go too hard on yourself, it wasn't your fault, it wasn't your claws... Even If the evidence shows it'
Flame scowled.
"Yeah, well even if they are the most dangerous dragons in all the land, what are the chances they're going to attack a school? It's pointless to keep us in here for 'safety'"
He shot Ruby a glare to which she shot back menacingly.
However Ruby didn't yell at him or anything of the sort, instead she just said in a Dangerous voice.
"Meet me in Tsunami's office after this, that's an order"
Flame widened his eyes but didn't say anything, meanwhile however then Cricket raised a talon from near the back of the crowd.
"Your majesties... Sorry if I sound like an idiot here but who exactly are the Heathens? And what have they done to make you so scared of them...?"
Everyone looked at her as she finished her questions and this got her to shrink backwards in a way to hide from all the beady eyes staring her down.
"I'll answer that," Thorn said as she took Ruby's place, allowing her to step back a little and cool off from Flame's sudden comments.
"The Heathens are a criminal group who made themselves known about five or so days ago when they attacked the Ice kingdom and demolished a powerful ancient landmark which was rumoured be unbreakable without extreme power"
"Correction, Queen Thorn" Snowfall said as she walked up beside her.
"The Great Ice Cliff WAS indestructible without Animus magic... And it just so happened that some of our Animus-touched objects were gone... Meaning that not only did they demolish our protection but they also STOLE from the Palace! They need to be brought in as fast as possible!"
There were whispers among the students before they were quietly hushed by Thorn.
"I understand your point queen Snowfall but we can't afford to rush something of this magnitude. These dragons were also the same dragons who destroyed the Scorpion den, Vulture came to me after the incident and told me all about it."
She paused before looking at Cricket.
"You see Cricket, The Heathens are a Dangerous group, they managed to break into Vulture's compound and burn it down despite all of the security in the fortified structure, I don't know how to explain it so you'd understand..."
However, that's When Hazel, the small Leafwing queen tapped on Thorn's shoulder.
"I'll Handle this" she whispered before speaking out to Cricket near the back.
"What they did here in what was known as the Scorpion den would have been the equivalent of breaking Into Wasp hive and burning it down to the ground despite all of the Mind-controlled Hivewings present"
Cricket's eyes went wide as so did Willow's and Sundew's.
They knew how protected Wasp hive was and how it was nearly impossible to break into, let alone burn down.
"To put simply, the Heathens are not to be messed with" Queen Thorn spoke up for a final time.
"If there's any ideas on their location speak to us immediately.
As for now, I would like to speak with the dragons whose names were called, everyone else, you're all dismissed"
This time the students walked away hurriedly, Sundew, Cricket, Moon, and Qibli walked up to the group of queens to have a private talk meanwhile that's when Peril quickly tapped on his shoulder with a non-firescale claw, making sure nobody saw her.
"Hurricane we need to talk" she said in a whisper.
"What? What's up?"
However, that's when Turtle walked up to him and whispered in his ear.
"The compass... It's reset... And I think I know where we need to go next..."
HELLO WONDERFUL READERS,
Sorry, this took a while I had a little writer's block.
I decided in the end to get this out now considering how I realised my chapter would be WAY too long if I kept writing so even though this chapter wasn't that interesting I'll leave it at that.
Peace!